Friday, July 29, 2011

This has been a very busy market in 2011, as credit card companies, banks, carriers, Google, eBay and a number of startups jostle for position. One of the defining features of the next generation of smartphones - which are starting to come out now - will be a technology called NFC (Near Field Communication). Instead of whipping out your wallet at a store, via NFC you'll simply tap or wave your phone to make a payment. This has major implications for banking institutions and the four main payment networks in the U.S.: Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. All have been actively preparing for this sea change in how we pay for things. read more

SANTA ANA, Calif. and ISMANING, Germany, July 29, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Identive Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:INVE) (Frankfurt:INV), a provider of products, services and solutions for the identification, security and RFID industries, today announced its selection by a leading mobile handset manufacturer to design and supply more than one million near field communication (NFC) tags over the next six months. The tags will be included in-box with each purchase of an NFC-enabled smart phone to enhance consumers' day-to-day mobile experience with a variety of NFC applications."Using the NFC tags is easy," explained Scott Austin, international sales vice president for Identive's Transponder Division. "Touching the phone to an NFC tag automatically triggers on-phone NFC applications, such as linking to a web address or URL, dialing a specific phone number, or having a map pop up to show nearby points of interest. Including the tags in-box is a great way to introduce NFC applications to consumers. We are excited to help pioneer innovative consumer programs that promote the use of NFC for mobile applications."

The industry standard NFC tags incorporate Identive's proprietary antenna design and RFID inlay manufacturing technology and can be read with any standard NFC phone. The tags will be delivered through Identive's Smartag subsidiary.

"The promise of NFC is that it will both simplify and enrich our daily activities, and Identive is helping to deliver on this promise by providing the technology components to build an NFC user infrastructure for the millions of NFC-enabled devices that will become available over the next few years," said David Holmes, Identive's vice president of Mobility & NFC Solutions. "Identive's NFC smart tags and labels are highly differentiated in consumer tangible features such as read range and durability. Our ability to offer high speed printing on sensitive electronic components, a large range of antenna designs and a wide variety of tags including the four standard industry types makes us a logical choice for both global and region-specific NFC programs."

About Identive Group

Identive Group, Inc. is an international technology company focused on building the world's signature group in secure identification-based technologies. The businesses within Identive Group have deep industry expertise and are well-known global brands in their individual markets, providing leading-edge products and solutions in the areas of physical and logical access control, identity management and RFID systems to governments, commercial and industrial enterprises and consumers. Identive's growth model is based on a combination of strong technology-driven organic growth from the businesses within the group and disciplined acquisitive development.

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The online payments market will increase from $740 billion in 2010 to $2,700 billion in 2015, according to a new report available oncompaniesandmarkets.com. The alternate payment market includes online, mobile and contactless segments. The alternate payments industry comprising online, mobile and contactless segments will post a CAGR of 17.6% over the period 2010 to 2015. The largest revenue generating segment of the advanced payments industry is the online payment segment.

The over-riding consumer meta-theme for the industry is going to be convergence – whether of devices, technologies, or value chains. Due to this, NFC will emerge as the de facto industry standard for conducting mobile payment transactions within the next couple of years.

This report provides an overview of the global online and mobile payments industry, examining the industry in terms of market size, its segments, evolution of the industry, geographic segmentation, value chain, key drivers, trends, major players, and challenges. It also examines the future of the digital payments industry in terms of convergence of devices, technologies and value chains.

Shipments of the systems will begin in August, installation will begin in October, and the system is scheduled to be operational on Staten Island buses by Jan. 1, 2012. Bus locator information will also be accessible by application developers who are developing apps for smartphones and tablet computers.

“VeriFone is thrilled to be a technology solutions partner in the MTA’s ongoing effort to modernize New York’s transit services,” said Jennifer Miles, VeriFone senior vice president – Retail, Global Security and Vertical Solutions. “VeriFone is committed to development of new mobile solutions for taxis and buses, and self-service solutions for areas like mass transit and parking.”

VeriFone’s TransitPAY is a rugged, reliable and secure solution that can transform the passenger experience and can integrate NFC smartphone-based payments and contactless smart cards. VeriFone has deployed transportation systems around the world, from Istanbul to New York City taxis, and supports both EMV and non-EMV bank-issued cards as well as closed-loop cards, such as MiFare cards.

This press release includes certain forward-looking statements related to VeriFone Systems, Inc. within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on VeriFone management’s current expectations or beliefs and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements herein due to changes in economic, business, competitive, technological and/or regulatory factors, and other risks and uncertainties affecting the operation of the business of VeriFone Systems, Inc. These risks and uncertainties include: the successful rollout of the VeriFone TransitPAY tracking solution, our ability to protect against fraud, the status of our relationship with and condition of third parties upon whom we rely in the conduct of our business, our dependence on a limited number of customers, uncertainties related to the conduct of our business internationally, our dependence on a limited number of key employees, short product cycles, rapidly changing technologies and maintaining competitive leadership position with respect to our payment solution offerings. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. VeriFone is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.

VeriFone Systems, Inc. (“VeriFone”) (NYSE: PAY) is the global leader in secure electronic payment solutions. VeriFone provides expertise, solutions and services that add value to the point of sale with merchant-operated, consumer-facing and self-service payment systems for the financial, retail, hospitality, petroleum, government and healthcare vertical markets. VeriFone solutions are designed to meet the needs of merchants, processors and acquirers in developed and emerging economies worldwide.

Near Field Communications (NFC) a short range communication system based on RFID technology that utilizes a reader/tag for two-way communication between two items. NFC is integrated with many devices and may be employed for various purposes and applications including mobile commerce, mobile marketing/advertising, identification/security, and more.

This research provides an analysis for the worldwide NFC markets and revenue potential. It identifies global market dynamics through analysis of specific regions and countries. It also includes a full market analysis for the mobile handset potential market revenue 2011-2016.

EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS--(Marketwire - Jul 29, 2011) - NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) today announced that it has extended its lead in the global Identification market, after eight quarters of consecutive growth in total sales across all market segments using Identification technologies. With its focus on developing end-to-end solutions for security, convenience and connectivity, as well as its strategy of building entire ecosystems for ID applications, NXP is a clear leader in key segments including eGovernment, transportation and access, RFID tags and labels, infrastructure, NFC and payments. In 2010, NXP's Identification business unit posted global revenues of $589 million across its three product lines Secure Transactions, Secure Identity, and Tagging & Authentication, attaining the No.1 position in the worldwide ID market. In H1 2011, NXP reported revenues of $383 million in Identification, firmly establishing its No. 1 position with recently announced Q2 revenues of $194 million.

"ABI Research believes NXP is uniquely positioned and differentiated from its peers in that the company supports the full range of RFID frequencies from LF to HF to UHF," said Mike Liard, research director for RFID at ABI Research. "Primary applications supported by NXP's transponder ICs are broad and far-reaching, including automobile immobilizers, security/access control, contactless payment, ticketing, NFC, government ID, asset management, item-level tracking, authentication and many others."

"NXP is the volume leader in many of these application areas, particularly within HF-based markets," added John Devlin, ABI Research's practice director for Auto ID and Smart Cards. "In fact, given its recent results and growth in 2010, NXP can claim to be the No. 1 Identification semiconductor company, including both its RFID and secure IC product groups."

Worldwide megatrends in mobility and connectivity, cloud computing, machine-to-machine (M2M) authentication, as well as physical and cyber-security threats are putting mounting pressure on businesses, governments and end users. In turn, the growing demand for more secure, easy-to-use, interactive solutions have opened new opportunities in application areas such as mobile payments, identification in the cloud, and authentication of objects throughout the global supply chain. NXP is ideally positioned to build on its successful track record of creating and developing new markets, delivering value to customers and partners based on its world-leading security technology, the unique breadth of its product portfolio, and its application-driven solution strategy. Working with industry leaders such as Google, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, ZTE, Nokia, BDr, Gemalto, Oberthur, Giesecke & Devrient, Avery Dennison, and many others, NXP is committed to supporting continued innovation across the broader Identification ecosystem.

Market Leadership in Key SectorsIn addition to an overall No. 1 position, NXP has achieved market-leading positions in the following sectors where it has invested in advanced technology platforms, building on its strength in cards and readers to develop end-to-end solutions based on an in-depth understanding of each application area. NXP ranks:

No. 1 in eGovernment. 77 out of 91 countries, or 85 percent of worldwide electronic passport projects, have put their trust in NXP's secure microcontrollers such as the SmartMX™.

No. 1 in transport and access management. Over 1.2 billion people worldwide have access to NXP's MIFARE™ technology, which has more than 70 percent market share in the automatic fare collection (AFC) industry.

No. 1 in RFID tags and labels. With market share of more than 50 percent in RFID, NXP covers the entire tagging market, excelling in fashion and retail apparel, electronics, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), media management, and animal identification. NXP recently received the 2011 Frost & Sullivan Customer Value Enhancement Award recognizing its Tagging & Authentication RFID business for its unique multi-application approach, as well as its broad portfolio of technologies including LF, HF and UHF.

No. 1 in infrastructure. With over 70 percent market share in infrastructure, NXP delivers full system solutions for customers' contact and contactless readers throughout a very wide range of applications including POS terminals, access gates and doors, set-top-boxes, laptops, accessories and more.

No. 1 in NFC and mobile transactions. As co-inventor of near-field communication (NFC) technology, NXP has led development and standard-setting in NFC since 2002, and is able to provide customers with a complete solution including RF, secure elements, and the associated software. NXP provides the complete, embedded secure NFC solution for Google Wallet, and NXP's mobile transactions technology has been adopted by world-leading handset manufacturers such as Samsung, Nokia, LG, ZTE, Sony Ericsson, Huawei and many others.

No. 2 in banking. According to ABI Research's payment cards report as of July 2011, NXP saw the greatest increase in shipments in 2010. After winning important dual interface tenders in 2010 and thanks to its focus on contactless technology ABI Research expects NXP to gain even more market share in the near future.

"Consolidating our No. 1 position in Identification validates our application-driven focus, as we continue to evolve and expand the traditional ID market in advanced and emerging economies to support our customers' ever-changing needs. To put it simply, our team is committed to developing end-to-end solutions which enable recognition and add convenience and security to everyday life," said Ruediger Stroh, executive vice president and general manager, Identification, NXP Semiconductors.

Stroh added: "One of the biggest emerging trends we see is convergence within the Identification market and the move toward using one IC for multiple applications -- for example, national ID cards that could be used to access transport and banking services. In addition, we're actively developing solutions for emerging market segments such as authentication within the Smart Grid and securing transactions using mobile technology such as NFC. Working together with our partners, we're exploring new ways for the intelligent recognition of people and objects to protect and connect the physical and virtual worlds we live in today."

About NXP Semiconductors NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) provides High Performance Mixed Signal and Standard Product solutions that leverage its leading RF, Analog, Power Management, Interface, Security and Digital Processing expertise. These innovations are used in a wide range of automotive, identification, wireless infrastructure, lighting, industrial, mobile, consumer and computing applications. A global semiconductor company with operations in more than 25 countries, NXP posted revenue of $4.4 billion in 2010. Additional information can be found by visiting www.nxp.com.

CHICAGO, July 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- SparkBase, Inc., a leading processor of white-label loyalty and stored value programs, announced that their free PayCloud® Mobile Wallet application is now available to Chicago area iPhone and Android smartphone users. PayCloud eliminates loyalty cards, allowing customers the option of waving a smartphone at a participating merchant's countertop sensor to check in, redeem rewards and coupons, and track their loyalty account status.

For the more than 50 million iPhone and Android smartphone users, their phones are already compatible with PayCloud Mobile Wallet. Now, Chicago area residents can download the free app that allows them to easily find over 20 local merchants, instantly join their loyalty programs, receive coupons, promotions, and earn additional rewards. In the next 10 days, 50 local merchants will be on PayCloud. By 2012, SparkBase estimates there will be more than 200,000 businesses participating nationwide in the PayCloud network.

"PayCloud provides the perfect alternative for people who rely on their smartphones for nearly everything and who don't want the hassle of carrying around yet another plastic loyalty card," says SparkBase CEO, Douglas Hardman. "When consumers see a local business on PayCloud, they are now more to likely sign up for its loyalty program because we've made it so easy for them."

Customer advantages will only increase as additional businesses join the network. When smartphone carrying tourists want a good place to eat or a fun place to visit in a new city, PayCloud will offer local area suggestions based on the types of places the traveler already visits back home.

PayCloud also brings peace of mind to the security conscious. In June, SparkBase integrated Zoosh, a Near Field Communications (NFC) technology, into PayCloud which means no special chip is required to conduct secure transactions between a smartphone and the mobile payment device. "Security is on our servers, not the phone," states Hardman. "Too many people today are trying to secure their phones, forgetting that these devices change frequently. Instead, we put everything out on the cloud while tracking everything internally on our servers."

"PayCloud is definitely consumer-facing. But more importantly, it's a secure mobile wallet technology today's consumer can rely on and trust," says Hardman.

About SparkBase

SparkBase enables financial services organizations, ISOs, acquirers and other merchant services providers to create and sell a variety of stored-value offerings including gift cards, loyalty, and rewards programs without heavy investment in product development or IT. SparkBase, 2011 winner of the ETA's "Technology Innovation Award," entered the stored-value industry in early 2004 as the first truly independent white-label loyalty and stored value processing network. SparkBase continues to lead in innovation with its proprietary gateway, using patent pending technologies for processing stored value transactions. For more information, visit www.sparkbase.com

Visa Inc.'s (NYSE: V) fiscal third quarter 2011 (ended June 30, 2011) operating earnings of $1.26 per Class A common share were three pennies ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.23. Results also substantially exceeded 96 cents reported in the year-ago quarter on lower share count.

Visa's GAAP net income for the quarter crossed $1.0 billion, surging 41.4% from $716 million in the year-ago quarter. During the reported quarter, Visa also divested 10% of its stake in Visa Vale issuer Companhia Brasileira de Solucoes e Servicos (CBSS) to Banco do Brasil and Bradesco. This resulted in a net after-tax investment gain of $44 million.

Additionally, excluding the non-operating gain related to revaluation of Visa Europe put option, operating net income escalated 23% year over year to $883 million. Besides, operating income climbed 18.3% year over year to $1.35 billion. Meanwhile, total GAAP operating expenses rose 9.5% year over year to $977 million, whereas the effective tax rate was 38% in the reported quarter.

Alongside, total operating revenues for the reported quarter were $2.32 billion, up 14.4% from $2.03 billion in the year-ago quarter and marginally higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.295 billion. While growth was driven by strong performance across segments, currency fluctuations contributed a positive 2% to the top line.

Service revenues increased 20.8% year over year to $1.06 billion and are recognized based on payments volume in the prior quarter. All other revenue categories are recognized based on current quarter activity. Data processing revenues grew 11.9% over the prior-year period to $886 million.

Besides, International transaction revenues, which are driven by cross-border payments volume, climbed 15.3% over the prior-year quarter to $662 million. However, other revenues, earned through Visa Europe's licensing fee, were $167 million, declining 8.7% over the year-ago quarter. Client incentives, which are a contra-revenue item, were $448 million, representing 16% of gross revenues.

On a constant dollar basis, payments volume increased 13% year over year to $941 billion. Total processed transactions carrying the Visa brand increased 11% year over year to 13.0 billion. Cross border volume, on a constant dollar basis, grew 14% year over year.

As of June 30, 2011, cash and equivalents, restricted cash and available-for-sale investment securities totaled $6.7 billion, up from$5.6 billion as of September 30, 2010, including $3.0 billion of restricted cash for litigation escrow. Long-term debt reduced to $22 billion from $32 billion at the end of September 2010.

Total shareholders' equity was recorded at $26.1 billion, up from $25.0 billion as of September 30, 2010. Besides, Visa's operating cash flow jumped to $3.0 billion from $1.8 million as of June 30, 2010.

Share Repurchase Update

Besides, during the reported quarter, Visa also repurchased about 13.7 million shares at an average price of $77.36, for a total of$1.1 billion. The share repurchases were made under the previously announced $1.0 billion share repurchase plan announced inOctober 2010 and May 2011.

Accordingly, the board of Visa also sanctioned a new $1 billion class A share repurchase program, which is expected to expire onJuly 20, 2012.

Guidance

Visa reiterated its projections for fiscal 2011, anticipating annual net revenue growth in the range of 11%-15%; annual operating margin of about 60% and GAAP tax rate of 36.5%-37.0%. However, capital expenditure is now expected to be above $300 millionfrom the prior estimate of $250-$275 million.

Further, the company re-affirmed its client incentives within the range of 16.0%-16.5% of gross revenue; advertising, marketing and promotional expenses at less than $900 million; annual earnings per share growth at over 20% and annual free cash flow in excess of $3 billion in fiscal 2011.

Earlier this month, Visa also provided its financial outlook for fiscal 2012, whereby annual net revenue growth is expected to be in the high single-digit to low double-digits range. Besides, annual earnings per share growth are anticipated in the middle-to-high teens. The trimmed guidance is the result of the recently imposed debit-fee rule.

Dividend Update

On July 22, 2011, the board of Visa declared a quarterly dividend of 15 cents per share of class A common stock payable onSeptember 7, 2011, to the company's Class A, Class B and Class C common shareholders of record as on August 19, 2011.

Business Update

On July 19, 2011, Visa announced that the company along with MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA), Discover Financial Services(NYSE: DFS) and Amercian Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) have joined hands with Isis, leading mobile platform in the U.S., to initiate mobile commerce in the U.S.

On June 9, 2011, Visa acquired Fundamo, a South-Africa based leading software maker for mobile banking services in more than 40 countries, in an all cash deal of $110 million. The transaction is expected to be marginally dilutive to the company's fiscal 2011 earnings. With more than 5.0 million registered subscribers, Fundamo has a strong capacity to reach out to more than 180 million consumers over the long run, thereby amplifying Visa's growth prospects in the rapidly developing and emerging mobile banking business.

Concurrently, Visa also announced a long-term trade alliance with a U.K. mobile software maker Monitise plc to enhance the delivery of mobile financial services to Visa account holders through banks. Additionally, both Monitise and Visa are also planning to launch a mobile banking solution in the U.S. for clients of Visa DPS, Visa's debit and prepaid processing platform.

Our Take

Visa continues to drive growth through increased payment volumes along with consistent growth in processed transactions. The company benefits from strong secular demand growth, meaningful international exposure, high barriers to entry, excellent pricing power and impressive operating leverage.

Although regulatory compliances as a result of the ongoing financial overhaul in the U.S. and litigation are expected to weigh on the financials of the company in fiscal 2012, Visa aims to retain its strength by exploring newer growth avenues that include mobile, eCommerce and money transfer services. The company is also generating strong cash flow and maintains a healthy capital position.

Meanwhile, Visa's prime peer, MasterCard is scheduled to release its earnings results before the market opens on August 3, 2011.

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LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VRL Financial News, the company behind the Cards International and Electronic Payments International information services, today announced that it will be releasing exclusive research at Prepaid Summit: Europe 2011. The research will analyse the benefits of prepaid cards in the workplace, an area that is likely to experience massive growth in the next 12 months.

VRL Financial News is a leading provider of market intelligence for the financial services industry, and has commissioned the research, carried out by TNS to better understand how employers can effectively execute prepaid cards in a corporate environment. For example a number of blue chip organisations in Italy are now looking at ways to pay salaries onto a prepaid card as an alternative to current accounts.

As well as looking at corporate prepaid, the summit will analyse how the new payments landscape is emerging, and why prepaid programmes have a vital role in meeting the evolving needs of the consumer. Already popular in Italy, prepaid cards are also taking off in Eastern Europe where they are being used as a cost effective alternative to debit cards. Usage is also increasing in emerging markets such as Africa and Asia where ‘pay as you go’ is still the most popular payment method for mobile phones.

Held in association with Cards International and Electronic Payments, Prepaid Summit: Europe 2011 takes place on the 10-11 October in Milan at the luxurious Hotel Principe di Savoia. This year’s agenda will cover issues such as:

Alternative payments and prepaid

Contactless and mobile payments across Europe and beyond

Whether developed markets learn from emerging markets

Micropayments

2EMD and the changing regulatory landscape

Retail, gift and loyalty

Government and corporate incentives and disbursement

Keynote addresses from MasterCard, Visa, PayPal, Epipoli, Garanti Bank, Icalex and the Prepaid International Forum feature as highlights to the agenda. Also this year Visa will be providing Audience Voting Systems, enabling attendees to take part in interactive debates and share their views alongside speakers.

Sponsors for 2011 include MasterCard Worldwide (Platinum and Workshop Sponsor), Visa (Gold Sponsor), Epipoli and www.mygiftcard.it (Session Sponsors), IDT Finance (exhibitor) and the event is also supported by the Prepaid International Forum trade association.

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The art of a technology blog
by Tim Cawsey
It’s always pleasing to see creative, informed content get the recognition it deserves, particularly in the world of social media. I thought I’d take a look at some of the security, telecoms and emerging tech blogs that we’ve been following here at Gemalto.
In no particular order, here’s a look at five blogs I enjoy reading online when I’m looking for something reliable, entertaining and, above all, utterly informative from the blogosphere…
ePayment News – Curated by John B. Frank, the ePayment News blog is bold and beautiful, covering everything from tech updates to investment market reviews. Handy features include the ‘you might also like’ (I almost always do…) bars and Payment News RSS page of ever evolving information.